


Only for the Views

by daintylemonsquare



Category: Dalton Academy Series
Genre: M/M, Unprotected Feelings, Youtuber AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-05-14 13:30:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19274296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daintylemonsquare/pseuds/daintylemonsquare
Summary: After appearing in a compromising position in one of the Tweedles' vlogs, Derek and Julian decide to capitalize on all the eyes it brought on them, even if it means bending a few rules and morals.





	1. Derek Seigerson’s Not Straight?!?!?!??!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek doesn't quite understand what it means to say yes to the Brightman Twins. Julian doesn't quite understand what it means to say yes to Derek Seigerson.

@KiloJules: ugh my ass hurts - 23hr

@BrightmanTwins: \o/ what a fucking party \o/ thanks for the footage everyone ;D - 19hr

@julian: @BrightmanTwins lol i’ll send you guys the bill later - 18hr

@BrightmanTwins: @julian We’re Ready to Pay™ - 16hr

@DSeigs: I guess you guys are getting a What’s In My Hangover Kit video today. - 8hr

@julian: @DSeigs weak :P - 8hr

@DSeigs: @julian Use real emojis. You’ve got ten iPhones - 7hr

@julian: @DSeigs You’re not my real dad. - 6hr

@DSeigs: @julian I’m ur real daddy tho right? - 6hr

@julian: @DSeigs oh my god (three eyeroll emojis)(three cry face laughing emojis) stfu - 5hr

@Gayyonce: @julian @DSeigs not to be one of those freaks but I Fucking Ship It - 5hr

@twatattouille: @julian @DSeigs omg dads - 5hr

@julian: @twatattouille @DSeigs No I’m Baby - 5hr

@buffinurmutter: @twatattouille @julian @DSeigs JGILSJHGLKSJDFHGKLSDL J A ME S JGJSFLK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 FUCK - 5hr

@HeavenlySmythe: @KiloJules tell me more tell me more like does he have a car? [ten wide eyes staring emojis] - 4hr

@KiloJules: @HeavenlySmythe [middle finger emoji] - 4hr

@KiloJules: @HeavenlySmythe dm - 4hr

@HeavenlySmythe: I love this flavor of tea wow. - 3hr

@julian: My OTP is Julian/Career thnx - 3hr

@AllStarD: Derian 4evs tho - 1hr

@KiloJules: @AllStarD Kannst Du Nicht [Five eye roll emojis] - 54min

@AllStarD: @KiloJules lol je ne parle francais je parle anglais - 52min

@KiloJules liked this tweet. - 52min

@KiloJules: @AllStarD you’re an idiot. - 51min

* * *

Tweedles - Hey King of Hearts. We’re gonna share a vid w u. It’s a clip from last night with Chesy Cat. Let us know if it’s cool to add into the rest of the party video.  

Tweedles - [Video. 12 seconds. Thumbnail is Julian leaning on Derek] 

Derek (KoH♥) - LOL. Okay Sure. Whatever. Gimme a sec. 

Derek (KoH♥) - Ya iz cool. If Julian’s ok w it. 

Tweedles - Great! Thanks!! 

Tweedles - Now that’s out of the way. Here are some more clips of you to the parts leading up to the party and then something for the montage. 

Derek (KoH♥) - Go ahead!! 

 

* * *

Tweedles - Hey Kitty. Check out this vid. It’s a clip from last night with King o Hearts. Let us know if we can post.

Tweedles - KoH signed off on it alreadyyyy. 

Tweedles - [Same video]

Cheshire  - Screenshot of Derek’s response. Actually, I want a video of that. 

Tweedles - As u wish Ches. 

Tweedles - So paranoid. 

Cheshire  - Yeah Well.

Tweedles - [Video of Evan, or Ethan, going on the discord app on his phone and showing Derek’s responses]

Cheshire - Great. Go ahead. I’m down with it. Just PayPal me $120. 

Tweedles - lmao k.

* * *

It was a joke. A bit. They were drunk. Derek figured it was meta and smart, showing that he was more than just a pretty face with a banging body. Kiss for views. Dating for subscribers. Self-aware clout chasing. It was such a short clip of them that was already edited down. He doubted it would be the main focus of the video. That party had a lot of crazy beats to it. Their part of it would’ve been overshadowed by many others before and after. The twins uploaded like crazy too. He would get several thousand new subscribers but that was it. That was the plan, anyway. His channel had been sitting pretty at 800K for more than a year now. He had to do something a little bit crazy. People were getting tired and bored of straight boy drama. He couldn’t talk about his exes anymore. Casey’s video on him almost put him back to 700K but his apology and their subsequent notepad Twitter statements stopped his descent. 

This year, he promised himself he’d get a million. Now that he wasn’t going to air his dirty laundry for views and he could only do so many things shirtless before people lost interest, that promise seemed destined to break. He did what he had to do. And it wasn’t so bad. He expected a bump on his socialblade after that video. He was lucky that the twins were interested in him in the first place, putting him in their weird little Wonderland discord. Most of the people at the party had well over one million subscribers. He had to take what he could. 

What he didn’t expect was the call he got from Logan when he got home from the gym. 

“What the everloving, flying fuck am I looking at right now?” 

Derek snorted. “Your dad’s campaign strategy?” 

“Did I fucking stutter?” 

“I don’t know how you expect me to respond, dude. It’s not like you can hold it up to my face,” Derek replied as he turned on his laptop and took an apple from the fridge. 

Logan grunted and cleared his throat. “Guess what I saw on YouTube after class today.”

Derek rolled his eyes. “Look, I know you’re this big shot teaching assistant now but I’m not one of the students. Don’t use your teacher voice at me. Spit it out.” 

“You’re number eight on the trending page. The twins posted a video and the title is: Derek Seigerson is Not Straight with a dozen question marks and exclamation points,” Logan ground out through his teeth. 

Derek paused mid-crunch of the apple. His heart rate shot up faster than the moment he  noticed there was a late yoga class at the gym this afternoon. “Huh...They never said they’d make that the title.” 

“Excuse me? What the fuck is this?” 

“Unknot your dick, Dad. I was mega drunk. I told you how hungover I was. That’s why I missed our weekly Skype call.” 

There was a pause. Derek could only imagine the face Logan was making in an effort to calm down. He snorted. Then came a sigh. “You didn’t tell me about you kissing easily one of the most recognizable YouTubers in LA. And you signed off on this? What the fuck is going on?” 

“You’re saying ‘fuck’ a lot, even if you don’t. You know. Fuck a lot.” Derek chuckled as he opened a browser, going to both SocialBlade and YouTube. 

“Derek Seigerson.” 

“Jeez, okay Dad Mode is still engaged,” he muttered. “It’s not a big deal. I’m still straight. I was drunk. That’s what drunk people do. We do crazy shit. It just so happens that we’re people who a shit ton of people watch.” There it was on his homepage. The title was hard to miss. The thumbnail was perfect. Him and Julian from a distance. Julian on his lap and him with his perfect, Instagram smirk. He couldn’t remember much of that night but he did remember what happened the morning after. Flashes of it made his thighs clench then quiver. His lips memorized the shape of Julian’s. He tasted awful in the morning but they were both too hungover to care about what the other tasted like. Most of it was touch anyway. 

Derek gulped. “Dude, there’s like almost three million views already. They posted three hours ago.” He checked his twitter and the notifications were going crazy. He played the video in the background. 

“I knew that already.” Logan sighed again. 

“Woah, I just gained like five thousand subscribers.” He went to his live subscriber count. “It just went to six.” His heart was thumping so hard he could feel it in his teeth. 

“Is that all this is about? Subscribers?” Logan asked, still forceful and grating, but Derek could hear the concerned undercurrent. 

“Well, yeah. Is that...a problem?” 

“Is that a—wh—yes. Okay. Yes. I’m your friend but that doesn’t excuse you for you to exploit the queer community for personal gain.” Logan’s volume rose at each word. 

“That’s not what I’m doing,” Derek said with shaky conviction. 

“Isn’t it? You said, and I quote, ‘If it gets me more subscribers, we’re dating.’” 

“I was drunk, okay? It’s obviously a joke. And you have to admit. It’s kinda funny.” 

“You kissed him three more times in that video. Up front and center for everyone to see.” 

“As you know, and as you’ve told me before, I’m a raging narcissist. So is Julian. So is everyone in that goddamn party. We were just having fun. I’m not trying to exploit anything,” Derek said. It was the truth but it tasted like a lie. 

“Okay...Okay.” Logan sighed. “Sorry for coming in hot.” 

“That’s fine.” Derek watched his subscriber count climb little by little. A thrill coiled in his stomach, though he was sure most of that sensation was from the ab workout he did earlier. “Tough day?” 

“You wouldn’t believe!” And as Logan went on his many rants—he’d be so good as a commentary channel but he had other aspirations in life—Derek watched his subscriber count rise from stagnation. Now all he had to figure out how to keep it on that trajectory. 

* * *

@julian: Just to set the record straight, @DSeigs and I are NOT dating. Thank you for your time. - 31min

@DSeigs: @julian [ten sad face emojis] - 29min

@julian, @BrightmanTwins, and 20.1k others liked this tweet.

@buffinurmutter: @DSeigs @julian omg no derek das gay. - 29min

@twattatouille: I CAN’T DO THIS. SOMEONE TAKE THESE WHITE BOYS AWAY FROM ME BEFORE I DO SOMETHING RASH. - 25min

@HeavenlySmythe: [seventeen tea emojis] - 20min

@KiloJules: @HeavenlySmythe I’m not telling you anything ever again - 12min

@HeavenlySmythe: @KiloJules Aw kitten. Put the claws away. As you say, Twas only for lols - 12min

@KiloJules: Fuck off [Upside down smiley] - 12min

@AllStarD: @KiloJules DM - 2min

* * *

Derek: So...how’s your subs doing after the video?

Julian: I don’t look at my subcount anymore. 

Julian: jk yeah it’s the greenest it’s ever been on my SocialBlade. 

Julian: U?

Derek: Yeah. Same. 

Derek: Do you wanna collab or something? Milk it while it lasts? 

Julian: Why not? Sure. Some extra AdSense in between acting gigs won’t hurt. 

Derek: lol k humble brag.  

Julian: u know u love it hahaha

Julian: any ideas?

Derek: ur the one with three mill.

Julian: u need me more than i need u. Got other things to think about. Call me when u figure it out. 

Derek: [eyeroll emoji] 

Derek: ok fine. Tomorrow. 

  
  



	2. Derek and Julian Not Being Boyfriends for 15 Minutes Straight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone has feelings about Derek and Julian's relationship. Even Logan. And Julian. And Derek.

10,032 views - [Thumbs up] 2.2k | [Thumbs down] 5

Derian Seigerstrong - Subscribe 11k

Published on July 13, 2019

 

Forgive me daddy, for I have been naughy. It’s been eight months since I’ve been on my bullshit.

* * *

 

The video started with a black screen with white Comic Sans text that read, “Hey guys. Guess what. Education has released me from its clutches. I am coming back to my cave and I am doing just fine. Summer is finally here and I can finally provide dat dank ass content.” The text changed with every sentence, a little too fast that some viewers might have to pause in between them. Wii Music played in the background. 

“Enjoy u pervs,” the text said. Everything went black. The music was cut off by a record scratch. Dramatic music began playing. It was the kind of music that was more associated during tense moments in a horror movie where everyone could potentially expect a jumpscare. Then a distorted voice:

“If it gets me more subscribers, we’re dating.” It echoed, ending with too loud static and a TV color bar background. 

A familiar vine began to play. “Welcome back to me screaming,” the boy said, before screaming. Then the same TV color bar background and sound effect. 

* * *

The first set of clips were from Derek’s first video with Julian, a week after the Brightman party. The title was “Weird Coffee Taste Test with Julian Larson” and gained five hundred thousand views over three days. Derek gained five thousand subscribers afterwards. 

“You really love putting things in my mouth, don’t you?” Julian said, blindfolded with his shoulders up. 

“Well, it’s a really pretty mouth,” Derek replied, glancing at the camera with a wink. Julian swung his arm at Derek. The coffee Derek had in his purposefully and comically small tea cup flew into his chest. 

“Oh my god,” Derek shrieked, tumbling off his stool. 

The video cut to Derek with his shirt off and Julian wiping him dry with a damp towel. “I’m so sorry,” Julian muttered. 

“It’s okay,” Derek said and put a hand on Julian’s. “Kiss it all better?” All audio cut off. 

The video zoomed in on Julian narrowing his eyes and giving Derek an incredulous look. Then it cut to Derek’s face. He fluttered his lashes, maintaining his smile. Julian yanked his hand out of Derek’s hand. After a brief moment, they began to laugh.

Then they were back on their seats and Julian was blindfolded again. “Are you seriously going to keep your shirt off the rest of this video?” The video zeroed around Derek helping Julian get a hold of the cup. Their fingers curling into and lingering with one another. 

“Why? Everyone likes it.” He paused. “You know you like it.” Derek flexed. 

Despite being blindfolded, Julian rolled his eyes along with the rest of his body. “I can’t believe I agreed to this,” Julian muttered into his cup. He sniffed. “The fuck is this?” As he said it, the video zoomed onto Derek’s abs. A flash of Comic Sans appeared beside Julian’s head that read, “sis same.” 

Julian gagged and held the cup away from him. “That is fucking vile!” Derek laughed. “What is that!” 

“What does it taste like?” Derek said in between laughter, watching Julian scramble for a tall glass of water that was five inches away to his right. 

“Like an evil villain in a swamp,” Julian replied. Derek guided his hand to the glass of water. Again, the video zoomed into their almost entwined hands. 

“How do you even know what that tastes like?” Derek chortled. 

Julian turned to the sound of Derek’s voice, tilted his head down, the video zooming and following this motion. The screen cut to Derek’s crotch, obscured by the kitchen counter. Then back to Julian’s face. He pursed his lips then popped them. The video went straight to Derek’s smirk. It was so close that the image was blurry.  “Wouldn’t you like to know.” 

“Have you been cheating on me?” Derek asked. Julian laughed.

The clip jumped to Julian pouring himself another glass of water outside the shot and Derek laughing at him. “It can’t be that bad.” 

“Fuck you, D,” Julian countered. 

Another flash of Comic Sans appeared on top of Derek’s face, reading, “when and how hard?” 

“Okay, see I’ll drink it with you. For solidarity.” As Derek tossed the drink into him, more Comic Sans text appeared, “As ur boyfriend.” Then Derek’s face soured into a grimace. Julian’s finger appeared in the shot.  

“See, I told you! What even was that coffee?” 

“Weasel Puke.” 

“Excuse me?” 

The video cut to Derek chasing Julian from the kitchen. “Baby, come back! We still have to do the outro!” The moment he said “baby,” a huge block of text appeared on the screen that also said “baby.” 

The last clip of this set involved the two of them sitting beside each other. Derek with a huge grin and Julian with a disaffected expression. Derek jerked Julian’s chair towards him. Julian fell into Derek’s, still shirtless, torso, and laughed. Then it cut to Derek moving to turn the camera off. 

“My taste buds will never be the same,” Julian said. “You know, I think you ruined coffee for me?” 

“Don’t worry. I’ll buy you a frap afterwards,” Derek replied over his shoulder. Julian pressed both hands on his chest in response, beaming. “You’re so easy.” One hand closed into a fist, save for Julian’s middle finger. “You know you love it.” 

* * *

 

The next set of clips were from Julian’s video. It involved a list of activities with a corresponding dollar amount. The screenshots of this list circulated twitter and Julian decided it would be interesting to add them up with Derek on video. The list had acts as innocent as sleeping in class (five dollars) to deep, dark acts like self-harm (eighty dollars) to downright crimes like arson (a hundred and fifty dollars). It was a lot like “never have I ever,” but with numbers instead of alcohol. In the original video, Julian dared that the one with the highest amount should be paid. Derek didn’t back down. 

“Number seven,” Derek recited, “kissed someone of the same sex. Seventy dollars.”  They glanced at one another. A clip of their inaugural kiss overlapped the video for a second. Julian was on Derek’s lap and Derek wrapped a hand around his neck to bring their lips together. Then they glanced at the camera.

Julian scoffed. “Just seventy?”

“I know, right? That should be, like, at least a hundred.” 

They were in Julian’s studio with a plain white backdrop and a laptop between them. Interspersed in this section of clips were of them leaning close to the laptop, leaning into one another as they laughed, and Julian resting his head on Derek’s shoulder. 

“Number eighteen,” Julian recited, “given or received oral. One hundred dollars—alright listen, why does it have to be ‘or?’ Why can’t they be one? And giving oral should totally be more expensive.” 

Derek waggled his head with a thoughtful pout. “True. That, and why isn’t this one dichotomized depending on sexuality?” Julian waved his pen in the air in agreement. “As a bisexual dude, what’s better? Giving oral or receiving oral?” The video narrowed to Julian and Derek’s faces. Derek’s gaze moved downward. 

“Giving. One hundred percent,” Julian answered without a moment to think about it. “And you?” 

The video focused on Derek clutching his pen tightly and blowing at the ceiling. “Receiving.” 

“You look like the type.” Julian bobbed his eyebrows. 

They were both paused as the audio cut to a grating voice going, “BITCH WHAT THE FUCK LOOK AT THA—AHHHHH!” With each syllable, the image of Derek and Julian was flipped sideways, upside down, and diagonal. 

“Number twenty,” Julian said, “watched porn. Fifty dollars.” The two of them wrote it down.

“Do you still watch straight porn?” Derek asked as he wrote. 

“Why so curious, Mr. Seigerson?” Julian turned to him. 

“You’re the only bisexual person I know. The rest of my friends—”

“You have friends?”

“The rest of my friends,” Derek repeated with a little growl to his voice. Julian chuckled and the video zoomed in to his hands going between his legs under the table. Then the Comic Sans text appeared, saying, “omg sorry daddy i’ll listen.” 

“—are straight guys and I have one gay friend from high school.” 

“Ooh, is he single?” 

Derek laughed. Beside his head was more Comic Sans that said, “no ur mine binch.”

Then Derek said, “You two would not like each other.” 

“Number twenty three,” Derek said after the cut, “Done drugs other than weed. One hundred dollars. One hundred fifty, if heroin.” He hissed. “Sorry to say. Got nothing. Don’t do drugs, kids.” He turned to Julian, who was squinting into the distance. “No way…” 

“It’s not heroin,” Julian replied. “There was this one time—oh,” his eyes flicked to the camera, “I’m not sure if I should say it here.” 

“The suspense is killing me.” Derek leaned towards Julian. “Was it cocaine? Did one of your big shot Hollywood celebrity friends give you coke? Was it Clark Sawyer?” 

“First of all, Clark Sawyer would never and the very notion of it is a joke,” Julian replied. “Second, I’m not that basic.” 

“Then what was it?” 

Julian pulled Derek close by the open collar of his shirt, which the video zoomed into, and he whispered his answer. Derek’s mouth formed a perfect circle and so did his eyes. Julian pulled away. “Do not tell anyone or I will cut your dick off.” 

“Do I look like someone who will break their promise?” Derek softened his grin. Their faces were inches away from one another. This moment of pause was enough for thousands of fans to turn this into their phone’s wallpaper, their twitter icons, their tumblr icons, and their laptop backgrounds. 

The last clip was of Julian getting the higher score. He managed to convince Derek to throw thousands of dollars over him so he could dance in it. When he started twerking on the table, Derek waved his hands in front of the camera. “Hey! You said that ass is just for me!” 

Julian laughed. “Show me the tape, Seigerson! You have no proof!” 

Derek crossed his arms and looked at the camera, like he was in the  _ Office _ . On top of this was a clip of them from the Brightmans’ video again. This time, Julian had Derek pressed against a corner and Derek’s hands were curled over his ass. The camera shook with unheard laughter. Derek pried one hand off of Julian to give the camera the finger. 

* * *

“There! Now you can say that you’ve gotten into my pants,” Julian said, behind the camera for their “Swap Styles for a Week” video. There was a corresponding Instagram aspect to the original video, very much inspired by Safiya Nygaard. The fans ate it all up—Julian in douchey snapbacks and even douchier polo shirts, Derek in leather pants and crop tops that said “Haven Ho” in glitters. It was a full five course meal of content, culminating in a picture with the two of them, Julian in one of Derek’s sweaters and gym shorts while Derek was all squeezed into a floral suit top with matching floral shorts. Derek had his arms around Julian’s shoulder and Julian was leaning on Derek’s torso. The next set of photos was of them dabbing.

This particular compilation video had that particular photoshoot section of said “Swap Styles for a Week” video overlaid with soft violin music and a heart border that said, “Not Boyfriends Cam” at the bottom.  

“These are so not your pants,” Derek huffed. He pushed the camera upwards before Julian could pan down all the way. “Hello? My eyes are up here!” 

Even from behind the camera, fans all over the world could hear Julian roll his eyes. “Not so fun being on the other side of it, huh, Mr. Seigerson?” Derek winced a little, waggling his jaw in response. 

“How do you walk in these?” Derek asked, waddling towards big mirror in Julian’s house. 

“I don’t. I strut,” Julian replied. “Don’t be such a baby. It’ll stretch out. Squat a little. Move your knees.” Derek obeyed and there was a huge ominous rip. 

“Oh my god. Oh my god! Julian, I’m sorry!” 

“My mom got me those when she was visiting Italy.” 

“Fuck. Listen. I—” Derek continued to stutter and stammer. Julian was capturing all of it. There was a brief moment of silence then Julian snorted. Derek groaned. “You fucking dickhead.” Julian laughed. He pulled out one of the bracelets Julian insisted on and threw it at Julian as he fell into the couch. 

“Oh man, that’s the most I’ve heard you apologize since that ten minute long apology video you made for Casey Lambert!” 

“Oh my fucking god! Fuck you!” Derek yelled, though it ended with a smile, as Julian apologized between giggles. “Don’t bring Casey into this.” 

“Oh, she was the one who suggested it to me.” 

Derek slumped and he pouted. Beside him, more Comic Sans appeared. “When bae and ex-bae prank u so hard u almost cry lmao #JustDerekThings.”

In the next clip, they were standing side by side. Derek was still pouting and Julian’s grin could light up the entire city. He clamped his free hand on Derek’s face. “Hey Mr. Grumpy Gills. When life gets you down, you know what you gotta do? Just keep swimming,” Julian began to sing. Derek’s face softened. 

“#DevotedDerek,” the Comic Sans said. 

“Are you done?” Derek asked. 

Julian continued to smile and let go of Derek’s face. “Yes.” 

“#LoveEyesLarson,” the Comic Sans continued. The Comic Sans became more talkative as these set of clips progressed. 

* * *

One of the golden rules of being queer was not to fall for a straight person or, worse yet, the straight best friend. It was passed along from queer to queer in anecdotes and platitudes. Everyone knew that they shouldn’t. And yet...

Julian sat slumped in his bed with an empty bottle of Moscato on one side and a half-drunk bottle in his hand and another full, unopened bottle on the other side. He sniffled and rubbed his nose. This was stupid. Watching these compilations and reading the comments was stupid. There was nothing to be gained from any of this except for pain. This kind of pain had nothing to reward him after he went through it. Just more pain. For someone who liked being choked, spanked, and manhandled in bed by all kids of genders, he supposed this was up his brand. Still, he hated himself for clicking on the video in the first place. 

This was meant to be business. There was no actual, millennial trademarked “This” between him and Derek but then it happened. And kept happening. They hadn’t even kissed ever since that video the Brightmans uploaded almost a year ago. The closest they got was of Derek suggesting that they revive the Chapstick Challenge in a vlog Julian stopped editing to drink alongside his sorrows. Julian so badly wanted to say yes, but he wasn’t going to go off-script. 

They had both made it clear that the start of their relationship (for the lack of a better term) was for the views. The numbers—the subscribers, the likes, the clout. And it was a little fun. Derek admitted that flirting with him was fun so Julian allowed himself to think so too. What he didn’t allow himself to think, most of the time, was that any of it was authentic. This was a market and they were selling well. Julian didn’t need the bump as much as Derek did, but it was an interesting idea at first and he wasn’t going to say no to more eyes on his content. Then Derek proved himself to be a bastard worth keeping around. Following that, Julian let himself be dumb enough to cultivate the attraction that was planted in his chest that night they shared with one another. His houseplants died within a month of each other. “This” shouldn’t have been as resilient. 

At least he wouldn’t have to look at Derek for another month, other than the video he was procrastinating on. His agent was booking him more and more roles. He agreed to more and more of them. With this trajectory, his “actor” credit was going to appear before “content creator” soon enough then maybe one day he’d be rid of Derek Seigerson. 

Something “good” came out of “this,” so Julian couldn’t be too upset. He shouldn’t. It was just another part to play. They made the parameters clear. Julian agreed to them. He mentioned them first. No kissing. Nothing below the belt. No cuddling. No hand holding, though they broke that one in the vlog he was editing—it was for a bit, and for Julian’s lapse of delusions. And no use of the term “boyfriend.” The one B-word they weren’t going to use for one another in video.

Julian watched the compilation again and imagined a world where they were. An “AU,” as the fans called it. 

* * *

@JLoganW3.0: @AllStarD answer ur phone we need to talk - 2hr

@JLoganW3.0: @DSeigs srsly dude answer ur phone - 1hr

James [Pride Flag Emoji], Seb, and 1.2k others liked this tweet

@HeavenlySmythe: @JLoganW3.0 @DSeigs [five tea emojis] - 57min

@Twattatouille: @JLoganW3.0 @DSeigs @Gayyonce ugh it’s a private account and it doesn’t look like he’s accepting any followers. He’s got like,,,six people following him - 54min

@Gayyonce: @Twattatouille: no facebook either what a bust lmao seems hot tho from the icon - 52min

@Twattaouille: @Gayyonce probs not a threat like,,,he doesn’t look like Derek’s type??? - 51min

@Twatattouille: LMAO “NOT DEREK’S TYPE” WHO THE FUCK DO I THINK I AM - 52min

The Southern Pansy, Derian 5evs, and 3 other people liked this tweet. 

@AllStarD: @JLoganW3.0 gimme two mins mom - 49min

@julian: hey guys, iz me, ya bi. - 10min

@julian: i’m a lil drunk. Check out my Instagram. I’m going live. Ask me questioins ya nasties - 10min

@HeavenlySmythe: oh y i k e s - 9min

* * *

“What’s going on between you and Julian Larson?” Logan asked when Derek finally picked up his phone after being in an editing hole for “Switching Houses for 48 Hours” video that him and Julian did last weekend. He wasn’t even done with his sponsored video for MVMT. Then he had to get ready for VidCon. Plus bills were due and a couple of his videos got demonetized after he rented that bouncy castle obstacle course for Julian.  He couldn’t tell if that vibrating in his chest was the Redbull or irritation. 

“You sound like every fucking tweet I get every fucking day,” Derek grumbled and rubbed his face. “Nothing. Absolutely fuck all. Have you been watching conspiracy theories about me and Julian? Is that the only reason why you’re calling? Seriously?” 

There was silence on the other line. Derek expected that Logan was going to say, “Don’t you take that tone on me, young man,” without it being ironic. He also expected Logan to drop the call. Instead, Logan said, “If you’re not together, then you should stop. Both of you.” What made Derek’s ass clench was the stern, controlled tone Logan maintained. Logan could rant and rave for hours on end. Logan’s rage was as bright and dangerous as a summer on Venus. His effort strained against his tone and Derek appreciated it. This wasn’t a courtesy Logan gave away to anyone. 

“Why? You’ve seen my numbers. You congratulated me when I hit one mil, then when I hit two. And he’s gotten a ton too. I mean, the whole ‘being cast as Nightwing’ got him going but—” 

“That’s not the fucking point and you know it!” Logan took in a deep breath. Derek brought back the phone to his ear. “I’m happy with your success. Truly, I am,” he said in a huff. “But what you two are doing is wrong. You are making these people think that you two are something that you’re not. It’s one thing to flirt with a friend. One thing to kiss them while you’re drunk, making it a bit in a video. It’s a whole other thing to have it as a staple on both of your channels for—I don’t fucking know—a year or whatever. You’ve got people speculating, even hoping that you two are together. They write fanfiction! Fanfiction! For fuck’s sake! You two shoot it down with a tweet or an Insta-story, then in the next video, you two are basically on top of each other on the verge of kissing, calling each other every pet name there is like you’ve got a checklist of them. You are playing with your viewers’ minds. It’s inauthentic. It’s a lie. It’s queerbaiting. You’re my best friend and I’m telling you straight up that this is not okay. I will not stand for it. I hoped that you would be smart enough to realize this, especially after you’ve heard me rant about queerbaiting in the media. But after seeing you two post those goddamn kissy emojis on Twitter like it’s nothing, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut anymore.” 

Derek’s blood ran cold. The energy from those Redbulls he drank began to curdle and weigh on his head. He rubbed his eyebrows. “I’m...Dude, I didn’t know this affected you so much. I’m sorry. Julian is my friend though. Like, legit. I thought, you know, since he’s bi, he’d tell me if what we were doing was wrong.” 

Logan huffed. He chewed on his words for a moment before continuing. “God I hate sounding like my dad—maybe you should stop hanging out with him. If he’s pulling the strings.” 

Derek jerked away from the very thought of it. “What? No?! Lo, he’s not that kind of guy. He doesn’t actually need any of this. Not anymore. He’s basically an A-Lister. He would’ve cut me out if he was only using me to tide him over in between acting jobs. We’re real friends.”

“...How sure are you about that?” 

“A hundred percent. I’m the leech here. He’s got an easy three million on top of me nowadays. He’s not using for me for anything.” 

“Do you think maybe...he likes you?” 

Derek scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Like I said, we don’t have anything going on between the two of us,” he lied. 

Of course there was something. The tiniest bit of shock each time Julian touched him. The slightest bit of warmth in his cheeks whenever Julian’s smile softened after they turned off the camera. The smallest trip in the beat of his heart whenever they flirted. But Julian was an actor. Not just any Youtuber-turned-Actor, but a serious one. One who could pay for someone to film and edit his videos but chose to do it all by himself. Perhaps it was just objective admiration. Derek told himself more often than he cared to admit. He could tell Logan the truth but he was straight. And Logan was already worked up. Tiny blips in his emotions weren’t cause for concern. If Logan thought he was leading Julian along in any way, he would explode. 

“Alright. Okay. Good.” Logan sighed. “I’m sorry for...I just...you remember how my dad used me in his campaign?” 

Derek nodded even though Logan couldn’t see him. “Yeah. Right, of course.” 

“It rubbed me the wrong way for the longest time. I know you do crazy shit and say shit for views all the time but I couldn’t get past this one.” 

“I get it.” 

“You should talk to Julian,” Logan continued. “Reset your boundaries. If he really is as good a person as you say he is, he wouldn’t have any problems with it.”

Derek’s lips quirked. “Does your therapist have a PayPal? I feel like I should send them a tip.” 

Logan snorted. “Shut up...Medication helps a little too, you know.” 

Derek remembered a time when Logan didn’t know how to communicate except with his fists, thrown objects, and a capslocked voice. Despite coming in hot, Logan would’ve let this fester until he could punch Derek in the face if it weren’t for his therapist. 

“So, did you just call to yell at me?” Derek asked. 

“Yeah, pretty much. I honestly thought we’d be at it for longer. I prepared counter arguments.” 

Derek laughed. “Well, you threw out the ‘you’re my best friend’ card so I had to listen.” 

“Yeah. I prepared that too. I didn’t want to go overboard.” 

“Again, does your therapist have a PayPal?” 

* * *

Julian frowned at the chat on Instagram and hid it behind his pillow. A good chunk of the questions were asking about Derek. He was either not drunk enough for this or was too drunk for this. He wasn’t sure if the barbed wire circling his heart was from resentment or sadness. Nevertheless, it wasn’t pleasant. 

“Look, guys. Just to address it, no Derek and I aren’t dating. Derek is straight. We kissed in the Tweedles’ video, sure, but we were both hammered. I barely remembered that night. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. We’re just friends, alright?” Julian was saying this mostly for his own benefit. Every truth had the barbed wire tightening. He had to believe in what he said or else his fanbase wouldn’t. “Can I get an ‘alright’ from everyone so we can move on please?” The chat complied. If only he could comply himself.

 


End file.
